Naan marks music director Vijay Antony in a dual role debut, one that of a hero and the other as a producer. It is also significant for him in terms of his musical journey as Naan is the 25th film for the talented music director. Naan is directed by Jeeva Shankar, again a debut director who had worked under the cinematographer/director, the late Jeeva.

“Nobody is perfect” is the arc around which Jeeva Shankar has woven his story with the protagonist Vijay Antony in tow. Jeeva Shankar’s characterization of his lead man sure stands out as he is unadorned of anything remotely called heroism and is far removed from the typical hero of a normal film. In other words, the line that separates the hero and the villain are blurred in Naan which could strike a chord with the audience.

Naan is the journey of man who seeks a path to undertake the travel of life but is deviated by the incidents that happen en route.

Performance wise Vijay Anthony just passes muster and needs to work much harder on emoting skills, body language and dialogue deliverance if he desires to continue this act. The pre-interval segment of confrontation with Siddharth where there is a huge scope to perform, he falters and his difficulty is perceivable. His character could have had a very disturbing life but that does not entail him to mouth all his dialogues in a flat manner without variation. Of course, his sinister looks help the character but having the same look through out is not redeeming.

Siddharth who was the hero in Anandha Thandavam makes an impressive presence in Naan and is suitable to his character to the hilt. In fact, the film that travels on a very dreary path hitherto, leaps up with Siddharth’s arrival. Rupa Manjari looks fresh, innocent and vulnerable and delivers her role with ease. Anuya’s role is just a cameo.

As a music director Anthony’s Makkayela is good holistically. The song has been well choreographed, filmed, edited and performed. Other numbers are just passable. Jeeva Shankar’s camera work reveals his guru Jeeva’s touches and travels with the realms of the script.

The writing appears quite promising and exciting for most parts and the director keeps the suspense element intact in many sequences. Flashes of intelligence are spread quite evenly in Naan and the film is engaging for most parts. The scene where Vijay Antony simultaneously hits Krishanmurthy and a college student nonchalantly in the liquor shop driving away both of them is an example of astuteness. In a similar vein, the pre-climax block at Siddharth’s home where he encounters Rupa Manjari is also riveting. There are patches of slowness on and off and if this could have been taken care of, Naan would have emerged as a riveting thriller.

It is not convincing when Vijay Anthony is asked to be in Chennai by the cops but he surfaces in Ramnadapuram. There are such glitches and unanswered questions but when the end credits roll with a ‘to be continued’ card, it is evident that the maker has a sequel in mind and perhaps has his answers there.